


OTP, Invitation

by ChestnutJinx



Series: Writober 2018 [1]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Co-workers, Dating, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jang Dongwoo is oblivious, Lee Sungjong Is Very Patient, M/M, Mutual Pining, fanwriterit, writober2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-20 17:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16141949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChestnutJinx/pseuds/ChestnutJinx
Summary: Dongwoo thinks that his new co-worker Sungjong is handsome, funny and very, very nice, but he's sure that Sungjong doesn't have romantic feelings for him, despite Sungjong wanting to hang out with him every time they both are free.(Writober 2018, prompts from Fanwriter.it)





	OTP, Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is my first attempt at writober. I have no confidence in being able to actually write 31 oneshots in a month, but I'm willing to try writing as many as I can.  
> The prompts come from [fanwriter.it](https://fanwriters.wordpress.com/2018/09/25/write-write-writober/), from two different lists; I will try to combine the two prompts as often as I can for most of the fics, but in case I'll have problems coming up with an idea, I might choose to stick with just one.
> 
> The prompts for Day 1 were "OTP" and "Invitation", so I chose one preferred Infinite ship (dongjong) and tried to put invitations in the story. Hopefully it's good enough.  
> 

"Hyung."

Dongwoo immediately turned to the right, seeing Sungjong on the entrance of the storage room. He immediately put the huge box of free gifts of the shop on the floor, already feeling the smile on his own face.

"Sungjong, what's up? Is your shift over already?"

Sungjong smiled and chuckled lightly, his long eyelashes throwing a thin shade on his cheeks for a short moment before revealing his dark eyes again. There was a strong contrast with his blond hair, and Dongwoo couldn't stop staring at him every time he got to see him in their grocery store.

He had been working at that place for just four days, so Dongwoo thought it was natural. It was also a little strange to see the boss purposefully hiring a guy with light hair without making him dye it black, but when the other cashiers asked him, the man had just shrugged and said: "he looks handsome so it's fine, he'll attract more customers this way." It was even stranger to see how Sungjong seemed completely accustomed to being stared at a lot: whenever he caught someone looking, he would just smile and wave, as if he was expecting it to happen.

In four days, Dongwoo was waved at by Sungjong at least six or seven times, which was pretty much every time he got to see Sungjong during his shifts and Sungjong wasn't busy dealing with customers. Dongwoo didn't put much thought into it, never considering it could be strange.

However, as soon as Sungjong stopped laughing and his smile took on a tenser crease, Dongwoo felt his own smile fading in favor of a lost expression.

"Ah, uh, did I- do you- what-" he stuttered, suddenly not remembering what to do with his hands. What were people supposed to do with their hands when they talked to other people, by the way? His mind was suddenly blank.

"Hyung!" Sungjong cut him off, smiling again. Dongwoo bit lightly his own tongue, hoping that Sungjong didn't mind his usual way of panicking when getting tangled up in his own words. "Do you have time this evening? Do you want to go eat something together?"

Oh. So it was an invitation. He didn't want to point out how his behavior had been annoying or anything like that. He just wanted to have a chat, maybe go for a walk later. Dongwoo nodded.

"Sure, I'd love to."

"Great." Sungjong smiled again. "Today we're finishing together, so let's wrap it up and go."

Dongwoo smiled, a little uncertain. "Sure, Sungjong, but... I have to put back a lot of stuff, still, and Hoya has already left. You'll have to wait."

Sungjong nodded, curling his lips. "I can wait as long as you need to be ready, hyung. Just do what you must and let's go."

 

They had lots of fun that evening. Sungjong knew a very good place where they got a generous amount of chicken and beer, then went to eat together on the river bank, sitting on a blanket that Sungjong, apparently, had brought from home in advance. In the end they shared a taxi, only to find out that Sungjong's flat wasn't more than ten minutes of walk away from Dongwoo's. They exchanged few words to say bye and parted ways.

Sungjong was a bright, fun person to be with. He was so handsome that Dongwoo had immediately thought he had to be the kind of guy who only does classy things and found himself to work as a clerk by accident, but he was a little crazier than what his looks would tell: he was funny and had interest in many more things than one would expect. He told him about many art displays, about female idol groups that he liked, about sports that he liked to do in his free time. When the topic of their families came up and Dongwoo mentioned that his older sister was an excellent sword dancer, Sungjong seemed so interested Dongwoo seriously thought that the guy would immediately start looking for someone who could teach him. They ate well, drank well, and Dongwoo felt good just by having met Sungjong once, figuring that it was his way to get to know his colleagues better.

However, two days later, as Sungjong started his shift right when Dongwoo was done for the day, he invited him again, this time to eat grilled meat. And at the end of that evening, Sungjong asked him to go shopping together the next day. In few days, Dongwoo found himself hanging out with Sungjong way more than he expected to.

"Are you and Sungjong an item?" Hoya asked Dongwoo one day. "You've been with him a lot lately. When did you intend to tell me?"

Dongwoo looked at him, a little confused. "Huh? No- no, I- we- no!" he stuttered. "And peep down, someone might hear you. Jjongie has just been nice."

" _Jjongie?_ " Hoya scoffed. "You are over formalities, then! Does he call you by your name too? Not 'hyung' anymore?"

Dongwoo blushed so hard Hoya laughed even harder.

"It's not what it looks like. Jjong is very outgoing, but he saw that most of us keep him at a distance. I seemed the most outgoing one, so he talked to me and we started hanging out. That's it."

Hoya smiled, but he didn't look like he was convinced. His following words just confirmed it. "You can think what you want, but if I were in your shoes, I'd pay attention to what he will be doing next."

"No, I- listen, I- he- it's not- Hoya!" Dongwoo huffed, the frustration building up in his chest. "Please don't spread rumors. Our boss is nice, but I don't know how would he react if he knew about me. Also, Jjong has just been hired here. It wouldn't be good to start spreading lies that might put him in trouble."

Hoya stopped smiling. "I know. I'm sorry, I just... he really looks into you, Ddongie. I'm not telling you that you two should be together, but, you know. At least be aware of it, and think of what you want to do."

The thing was, Dongwoo already knew what he had wanted to do. He kept looking forward to the moment Sungjong would just pop up in front of him and ask him to spend some time together, whether at some small restaurant or for a walk. He had started opening up more to him, and Sungjong was always so bright, so ready to accept even the unusual sides of him. Instead of being weirded out by his unusual sense of humor, he would play along, and sometime he was even more jarring - which was definitely a first.

Unconsciously and without being able to stop, Dongwoo had started to fantasize a little. For example, he noticed the way Sungjong seemed so interested in his rings, and his mind immediately formed the image of their fingers tangled up together, a couple of rings on their fingers shining the exact same way. Sungjong had seemed impressed when Dongwoo had showed him his dance skills, and immediately after the elder had imagined touching Sungjong's tight waist with both hands as he tried to teach him some dance steps - and it was ridiculous, because Sungjong was already so good at dancing, plus for what reason in the world was he supposed to wear one of two couple rings with Dongwoo anyway?

Yet Dongwoo had started to take pleasure in hearing his gentle voice. Sungjong was naturally affectionate, probably because he was three years younger, and the way he hugged Dongwoo whenever he felt a tad embarrassed - a move that had substitued his usual way to cover his smile with the back of his hand - made Dongwoo's chest swell with delight.

But that was it. There wasn't anything more to come.

 

"Hyung, are you busy this evening?"

Dongwoo started smiling like an idiot as soon as he heard the word 'hyung' coming from Sungjong. He looked at him and laughed, a little amused by the question.

"It's the weekend! Plus I always have time for you, Jjongie. What is it?"

Sungjong shrugged, but he looked especially tense. Dongwoo assumed he was tired. "I... you know, my mother, she... she always thinks that I might be starving. She's always like that since when I started living alone, but I actually think it's because she thinks that I might feel lonely, so I have this huge load of side dishes that will spoil before I manage to eat everything."

 _So he wants to give me some of his leftovers. I guess it makes sense._ Dongwoo was ready to answer that, yes, he would happily accept them if he really didn't need all that food and didn't have a way to keep everything from going bad.

"...so do you want to have dinner at my place tonight?" Sungjong asked in the end. He looked hopeful. "I promise my place is clean. We can watch a movie right after. What do you think?"

"Yes, I'll... huh? What? Eh?" Dongwoo blinked. "Are you- are you saying that...?"

Sungjong was inviting him to his place? Really? He would put down dishes for two at his place, with homemade food (not made by him but whatever), letting Dongwoo into his private space to spend the evening together? Was that a dream?

"I understand if you don't want to, don't be embarrassed and just refuse if you don't like the idea." Sungjong smiled sweetly. "I would like to have you for dinner, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"No! I am embarrassed!" Dongwoo answered. Then he realized what he had just said. "No, uh, I mean I'm not! I- I'll be there!"

After a completely lost stare coming from Sungjong, the younger smiled so bright Dongwoo thought his heart would stop. "Great! Then I'll wait for you, let's go there together."

Dongwoo smiled back and kept smiling even when Sungjong had left the storage room. He told himself that, yeah, miracles apparently DID happen. And of course, he started wondering what was Sungjong's house like. What would they do. What would Sungjong look like in his own home. Maybe they would even drink together. Maybe they would stay up until late, and Dongwoo would fall asleep, and Sungjong wouldn't be able to wake him up even if he were to slap him hard, so he would have to let him stay for the night. Or maybe...

 _No_.

Dongwoo shook his head, trying to stop thinking about that. He had already fantasized plenty about Sungjong and the things he would have liked to do with him, and he was still going on, and it was nice to get lost in fantasies that would never come true, but he also had to face reality. It was impossible for Sungjong to be actually interested in him. Those were just his own delusions. Sungjong was just an amazing guy, kind and affectionate, bright and funny, and Dongwoo should have considered himself lucky to be his friend already. There wasn't anything more in that invitation. It was just a dinner with a friend.

A friend who Dongwoo was dying to kiss. But just a friend.

 

"My house is clean, but I'm not the tidiest person around, I'm warning you." Sungjong said, a little embarrassed. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't! Besides it won't ever be messier than my room, I'm ready to bet."

Dongwoo took a deep breath and smiled as Sungjong wrote the code to his small apartment rapidly and opened the door.

The place was much cozier than Dongwoo had imagined. For some reason he was expecting a classy place, just like what Sungjong looked with his blonde, wavy hair and his perfect outfits, yet there was a sofa packed with pillows, a nice carpet, a small kitchen that was, yes, actually loaded with food containers and tupperwares.

Sungjong showed an awkward smile. "Are you- do you like it? I'm setting up the table right away."

Dongwoo looked around, not knowing whether to help Sungjong at first, but then Sungjong pointed a drawer at him and asked for chopsticks, so they ended up preparing the table together. Dongwoo looked at the dishes slowly filling the space and Sungjong preparing the instant rice, and wondered if that was just an occasional evening at that place, or if he could hope to see that same place again in the future. He had no idea. He hoped it was the second instance.

The dinner went on nicely. Sungjong was slender, but he could eat quite a lot when he wanted to, and Dongwoo took pleasure into putting more food in his plate for him to eat. They chuckled at each other and kept sharing food and chatting, the mood light, the night still young.

Then Sungjong took a piece of meat and passed it to Dongwoo, but not into his dish. He just held it with the chopsticks, right in front of Dongwoo's mouth.

And Dongwoo just opened his mouth and let Sungjong feed him. He didn't even pay attention to it at first, as if it was natural - as if they had been doing it all the time. Yet that wasn't the case at all, and Dongwoo only realized when Sungjong took a piece of kimchi, scooped up some rice and put it all in a spoon to feed Dongwoo again. That was when Dongwoo felt a little disoriented, but ate the food anyway, looking at the younger's expression carefully.

"Is it tasty, hyung?" Sungjong asked.

Dongwoo nodded, a little unsure. "Uh. Yeah. Tasty." He finally showed a smile. "Your mother is a great cook."

"Thanks." Dongwoo felt his chest swelling with delight as he saw Sungjong smiling, then he picked up some food to hand him as well. "You should try this too."

"As if I hadn't eaten a lot already!" Sungjong chuckled, but still accepted the meat Dongwoo was handing him, his lips curling around the juicy piece and making it disappear.

After that, the awkward feeling just disappeared. Dongwoo wasn't feeling as nervous anymore, and they cleaned up everything together as they finished eating. It was a nice feeling, getting to do this together with a friend. Dongwoo couldn't even remember when was the last time he got to spend some time at a friend's place, and for sure he didn't get to eat homemade food from someone other than his mother that easily. Sungjong was a good host, and a great friend, always making sure Dongwoo was comfortable and offering him drinks, and then asking him if his stomach was fine after eating that much, and even choosing a movie that Dongwoo would like instead of choosing one by himself - that was an especially thoughtful move since Dongwoo was too much of a scaredy cat to watch the horror movies Sungjong seemed to love.

In the end they were sitting on the couch, side by side and with a good action movie in front of them. Dongwoo wasn't one to watch movies often, but he would have never refused an invitation from Sungjong to watch something together, their knees brushing and their shoulders touching...  _their shoulders touching?_

Yes. Despite them sitting farther from each other at the beginning, Sungjong had gotten a little closer to the center of the couch. His eyes were fixed on the screen of the TV, focused, but he turned quickly to Dongwoo when he noticed that the elder was staring at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"No, I, I just noticed- you're a little close." Dongwoo blurted it out and immediately regretted talking at all. They could have stayed that close for the whole movie, but he had to ruin everything, of course--

"Do you mind?" Sungjong whispered, still looking at him.

"No, it's fine."

And just like that, Sungjong shifted even closer. Now their thighs were adhering perfectly to each other, their arms touching more. As Dongwoo formed the thought of his arm being squeezed too hard against Sungjong's, his friend lifted it... to wrap it around his shoulders.

For sure his heart had stopped for a moment. Dongwoo didn't turn back to the screen, and Sungjong wasn't paying attention to the movie either. He was just looking at his face, and Dongwoo was too busy looking at Sungjong's face being so close and pretty in the dim light of the room to think of anything else.

Because, really, what else could ever happen? They were just colleagues, maybe friends. When they were hanging out, Sungjong had told him a lot about it: how he often got unwanted attention from guys, how many thought that he was gay because of his attitude and bullied him for it in high school. People hadn't been nice to him, and he definitely didn't need a colleague lusting after him. Not to mention someone who was supposed to be a good hyung, a friend.

So Dongwoo turned back to the TV, trying to focus on the movie on his own. Better not making Sungjong uncomfortable in his own flat, after all - it would have been bad, after being treated so nice.

Few minutes passed like that, Dongwoo trying to focus on the movie and Sungjong relaxing next to him and looking at the screen as well. Then Sungjong shifted his position again, twisting his bust to turn to Dongwoo and lifting the arm again to brush Dongwoo's hair with the fingertips.

Something that Dongwoo couldn't just ignore, of course. So he turned to the younger man, his lips slightly parted as a question formed on the tip of his tongue, only to fade away as he met Sungjong's gaze.

He looked relaxed, but also serious, as he caressed his head. As if he was doing it naturally, but was also putting a lot of thought in every single gesture. He smiled a little to Dongwoo, but he didn't look amused. Rather, he looked...

 _Endeared?_  No. Dongwoo bit his lip lightly, his expression darkening a little without him noticing it. It was impossible. Sungjong was just being affectionate, because he was a good friend who would sometimes act on impulse, just like him. A few pets on the head couldn't mean much to him.

"Is it annoying, hyung?" Sungjong asked in a whisper. "Do you want me to stop?"

Sure, that evening Sungjong was paying a lot of attention to him. Dongwoo didn't mind at all, of course, but it was unusual for Sungjong to worry that much about his reactions.

He could have just said "no, I don't mind" and maybe they would have stayed just like that. Instead, Dongwoo had to blurt out the first sentence that came to his mind.

"Am I your pet tonight?"

Sungjong's hand froze, his expression got stiff. "Huh...?"

 _Shit._ "Uh. I mean, uh. You taking me home, feeding me, then you cuddle me on the sofa. It feels like I'm a dog you took in."

Sungjong immediately laughed, covering his mouth with the back of his free hand; in the meantime he moved the other hand from Dongwoo's hair to his shoulder, clinging to it as his body was shaking in amusement. "I mean! Sure, hyung! If that's what you like, sure."

Dongwoo smiled as well, shifting a little to turn to Sungjong. "Then pet me a lot. It was a long day, I need Jjongie's pets to recharge."

He only realized how embarrassing what he said was after he finished the sentence, and in fact his smile got a little smaller in the process, but Sungjong probably was in the mood, because he snickered and put both hands on his cheeks, squeezing his face.

"Sure! You're such a good boy, Dongie! Good boy!" he praised him, smiling wide. "Do you want your daddy to pamper you? Huh?"

"Yes!" Dongwoo got back his wide smile, pushing with his chest against Sungjong's arms to get closer. "I want. Pet me more."

"Good boy! Now just calm down a little--"

"Come on!"

"Wai- hyung, I'm--!"

Sungjong slumped on the couch backwards as Dongwoo, pushing too hard for that silly made up day, just fell against Sungjong's chest, squeezing the younger's arms between their chests.

"Ow," he lamented, feeling the hardness of Sungjong's watch against him.

"Yeah, wait a second, could you- lift yourself for a moment, hyung."

Dongwoo put his hands against the pillows and lift himself up, letting go Sungjong's arms. That was when he finally realized what just happened; he had his left thigh pushing against Sungjong's right, the other leg between the other's, and Sungjong's face was so, so close.

"I'm- oh. Sorry, I-" Dongwoo swallowed and tried to slowly sit back.

Sungjong, though, put his arms around his neck, looking at him up close with care.

"Hyung. I thought you wanted me to pet you." His voice had a faint taint of-  _no, this can't be disappointment, Sungjong is just joking._

"Y-yeah?" Dongwoo noticed the faint sound in his own voice and gave a little cough to clear it. "Yeah, I- I guess we could, I mean-"

"Hyung." Sungjong pouted a little. "You're doing so well, but you must be the most oblivious person I've ever met."

Dongwoo blinked. "Obli...?"

He didn't know. How could he have known? Sungjong was so close. His Jjongie, his hair messy against the pillow under his head, his eyes half-open, his lips slightly parted, his breath crashing against Dongwoo's lips. He was so close and so beautiful. Dongwoo wasn't getting anything. He was too busy trying not to do something he could regret later.

But Sungjong, indeed, by suddenly pulling him closer and brushing lightly his nose against his, was making it hard to focus.

"Are you... really not thinking of anything, right now?" Sungjong sounded pleading, maybe even a little sad. "Nothing you want to do?"

Dongwoo was frozen. He realized he had stopped breathing. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply and trying not to think of Sungjong being breathing his same air.

"Yeah. I'm thinking of many things, Jjong."

The younger smiled lightly for a moment, then... he just let go of his neck, letting his own arms fall back on the couch. His expression was a huge, almost comical frown.

"Then come on. I already invited you so many times, but it would be awful to do all the work by myself. You have to go ahead yourself this time."

Shivers down his spine, Dongwoo felt even his muscles tremble lightly at those words. All his worries, all his attempts to keep it a friendship and to chase away thoughts of making it anything more... had that work all been a waste of time, after all?

"You like me." It wasn't a question.

Sungjong let out a relieved chuckle. "Thanks for noticing, hyung."

Dongwoo laughed as well. "God. I really... I really thought you only wanted to spend time together as friends."

He lowered himself on the couch, pressing gently his chest against Sungjong's. Their noses were brushing lightly again.

"Can I kiss you?"

Sungjong scoffed lightly, but his eyes were smiling again, small dots of light spread on his irises. "Do you need an invitation for that, too?"

Dongwoo laughed, feeling a little embarrassed. He then pressed a first, small kiss on Sungjong's lips, light, soft, smiley. Sweet as he hoped it would taste.

"I guess not. Not anymore."

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ChestnutJinx)   
>  [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/ChestnutJinx)


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